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resolvedHow does one go about measureing one's girlfriend for a surprise bike for Christmas, if she doesn't already have one to measure against? I know my size (56) which doesn't appear to equate to the sizes on offer for 'her in doors'. They appear to be from 15 to 21?
Is it still the distance from the 'a'herm' to the heal?
thinking now....
(56 / 25.4) * (10) = ~22
So if I'm 183cm and she is ~178 then she could be a 21? or a 19?
Presume she has trousers.
Put a pair of hers on yours.
Don't get caught.
Thought you'd already bought it...
This is another... but also just checking as there are 2 sizes and I had bought the 18 but then changed my mind and went for the 22.
This is for a Ridgeback Vanteo or such.
I usually have a "56 frame" as well. But I'm 178. Do you have short arms?
Are we confusing inches and centimetres?
Cue dodgy comments...
I will get my coat.
That's taking N+1 to new extremes!
If she operates exclusively indoors then it's unlikely she'd have much need for a bicycle. Alternatively, if it's just that your terminology is borrowed from the 1970s and she is able to freely go outside then 1: measure a pair of her trousers or 2: take a photo of her standing next to something you can go back and measure when she's not watching.
amir "I usually have a "56 frame" as well. But I'm 178. Do you have short arms? "
No, perhaps its just what I'm used to? My Dawes (which I ave based all my comfort fitting off) is a 56 or a 57? I don't know to be precise, is comfortable so I bought a 56 Carbon bike which has also been comfortable. Hmm perhaps I should get her a 22? She is around 5.10 tall.
I suspect the sizing requirements for this type of bike may be different from your bikes. @laidback may be able to help
Are men's bike frames measured in centimeters from the bottom bracket to the seat clamp and ladies' bike frames measured in inches between the same to points?
bear in mind what dimension of the frame a "56" (cm) measurement is actually measuring is not necessarily the same as what a "19" (inch) measurement is measuring...
"Road" bikes are normally quoted in metric, MTBs / hybrids in inches, for whatever reason. Compact geometry road frames introduce a whole new geometry. I seem to have a whole range of different quoted sizes which are more or less all the same on the ground.
Uncle Sheldon has much to say on the matter; http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html
"Bottom line: seat tube "frame size" numbers are nearly meaningless unless you know how they are measured! "
Stastically speaking women have longer legs and shorter torsoes in proportion to the rest of their body than men. If you buy a man's frame it might well fit her legs but it could be a bit of a stretch to reach the bars.
"Stastically speaking women have longer legs and shorter torsoes in proportion to the rest of their body than men"
social media has spent all week telling me that's bunk, but I've not read further to discover why or how.
"social media has spent all week telling me that's bunk"
I also read somewhere on the internet that the thing about women having different proportions to men is incorrect, but I likewise don't recall more than that!
DaveC, far be it for me to tell you how to give a present to your girlfriend, but would it not be better to present her with a "voucher"/small model of a bike or something, and then go shopping with her and get a bike that you know fits her?
Georgina Terry (of Terry saddles) suggests that women-specific frame design is helpful because the centre of mass of a woman's torso is higher up (closer to the shoulderblades) than that of a man of equivalent height. Hourglass vs. cylinder would be the most obvious analogy. WSD can thereby ameliorate the stress on the lower back and the arms.
But there does seem to be evidence that the mass of body sections is notably different. This page has numbers pointing to greater mass in the pelvis and legs(ok, maybe stating the obvious). It would benefit from diagrams though. The Plagenhoef stats seem to suggest much smaller differences between male and female mass and dimensions than you might expect though.
<elaborate scheme>
Come to Glasgow. Hire pair of next bikes. Adjust apporpriately. Promenade delightfully around the city. Upon dismounting, you (or an accomplice, for added stealth) take measurements of adjusted bicycle. Rejoice in a plan well executed.
</elaborate scheme>
"Stastically speaking ..."
I'm confident that's true.
Obviously there are men with remarkably short legs.
Most people (m+f) don't require 'precision fits' for speed/efficiency/distance.
With 'step-through'/ladies frames size isn't particularly critical.
Bikes tend to come with quite long seatposts these days.
Stems are slightly more problematic as they are more of a pain to swap. If rider is expected to want a 'more upright' ride might be better to choose a bike designed like that, but changing stem and bars can make a big difference.
I've made a lot of bikes 'fit' by moving the saddle forward.
On bikes with saddle clips (rather than micro-adjust seatposts) a lot of adjustment is possible by turning the clip round (fiddly!)
Statistically speaking women may or may not have different proportions from men but I imagine that DaveC's girlfriend only has the one set of proportions so that's not going to help much.
I would definitely go down the 'go out for a ride and see what fits her' approach as this may also give some idea of whether or not she's actually going to like her present...
"DaveC, far be it for me to tell you how to give a present to your girlfriend, but would it not be better to present her with a "voucher"/small model of a bike or something, and then go shopping with her and get a bike that you know fits her? "
Perhaps DaveC has a ET-based fantasy
To add another anecdata point, my daughter now has the same inseam as myself, despite remaining significantly shorter.
Ergo the internet is wrong, in my experience...
;-)
Robert
At what stage do we reach the level of involvement where the gift should be marked as "from CCE" rather than "from DaveC"?
"now has the same inseam as myself"
Then there is the question of foot size
@roibeard - inseams depend on fashion as much as on actual inner leg length, which is *exactly* why i didn't suggest Davec measure his girlfriend's trousers.
This forum becomes awfully technical sometimes
Ah, I was being imprecise - what I meant to say was that I no longer need to adjust the saddle height when swapping between my daughter and myself.
I confess I've never actually measured (or indeed tried on!) her trousers...
Robert
sorry Roibeard!
"This forum becomes awfully technical sometimes"
Only when necessary...!
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